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It’s Personal… by Michael Fratkin, MD

Friday, 21 Nov 2014 20:13

When we hear that we have a terrible illness that will shorten our life, it’s personal. When we learn about the benefits and trade-offs of the tests and procedures that will decide what treatments and medicines may help us, it’s personal. As we make our way through side effects, complications, insurance plans, phone calls, waiting rooms, pharmacies, labs, radiology departments, billing departments, emergency rooms, intensive care units, medical jargon, bad news, good news, family conflict, family meetings, caregivers, nursing homes, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychotherapy, medication lists, medication interactions, medication errors, advance directives, wills, and the many losses, it’s personal.

Our living and dying are not medical. While it’s a natural truth that we all die, the last chapter of life is better centered in our homes and with our families.

We need guidance, not guidelines. As we face to hardest challenge there is, we want to be seen as we see ourselves…as the people we are with the people that love us. We want to chart our own course on our own terms. We want healthcare providers that understand that we are not malfunctioning machines, exploitable consumers, or anything less than people like they are. We want to get the most possible benefit from medical technology and we need help to avoid the many pitfalls our fragmented and complex healthcare system.

It’s personal.

ResolutionCare is just such a team of professionals providing such care to people in their homes, and sharing this perspective to improve care wherever people with serious illness seek value in our healthcare system.

The economics of providing healthcare to those of us with serious illness are changing fast. As a society, we are realizing that “more” is not better. New ways of funding programs like ResolutionCare are being developed across the country to be driven by the value they deliver to people defined by them as satisfaction with their experience and well-being, rather than by how many encounters or procedures that can be billed. That’s a very hopeful sign of sanity.

We need your help nowbecause we want to start now to build the ResolutionCare team now on the strength of good sense, a great business plan, and a perfect moment as our society is engaged now in an electrified conversation about the nature of how the care for people dying should be provided by the rest of us that are under the illusion that we are not dying.

We are funding our start-up with an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign because this project belongs to the more than 1100 people that have died under my care in the last seven years. ResolutionCare belongs to the community of families that understand the value of this work far better than I do. ResolutionCare belongs to my community here in Northern California. ResolutionCare belongs to any and all in this global neighborhood that resonate with our goals and want to join us in bringing respect, kindness, and skills in service to those making their way through the greatest challenge all of us will face.

It’s personal.

So step in, sign up, and spread the word about this “pay-it-forward” moment. ResolutionCare will honor every penny raised and we are ready to make as big a difference in the world as we can. How far we go will depend entirely on how personal you make this for you, your family, and you all those that you love.

"It's OK to Die" is a ground-breaking book filled with graphic stories straight out of the Emergency Room illustrating how most Americans are completely unprepared for death and dying. In response, the authors have created a unique and comprehensive guide urging EVERYONE to prepare in advance, to assure their own peace and to prevent the suffering of their loved ones. Learn More..

2 thoughts on “It’s Personal… by Michael Fratkin, MD”

Michael’s work struck me as he said, “this project belongs to the more than 1100 people that have died under my care in the last seven years” as a Hospice/Pall Care physician.

Similarly, my work, and ALL of our work belongs to those who we ALL have cared for… past, present and future. They, the patients, have taught us what we need to do differently. Michael is HEARING them and doing something about it. Please support him!

Creating a world that gives dignity to the personal. “Through the ideals we share and the relationships we make, we are capable of the most formidable collaborative endeavors….Speaking and listening, we can bridge the abyss between [us]….We know that we are not alone. From that elemental experience is born our ability to form relationships built on trust….Words join us to others and others to us.” It’s personal.

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